Part D Prescription Drug Coverage & the Donut Hole
Medicare Part D provides seniors with the option to receive subsidized coverage for prescription drugs. These prescription drug plans include an initial coverage limit when the beneficiary reaches $2,830 in total drug costs. Above $2,830, there is a Part D prescription drug coverage gap -- also known as the “donut hole” -- in which the beneficiary is responsible for the full cost of prescription drugs, until catastrophic coverage kicks in when costs total $6,440. The coverage gap exists because the cost of providing continuous coverage without the gap exceeded the budgetary limit imposed on the law that established the Medicare drug benefit.
But now as a result of the new health reform law that Senator Franken supports, starting this year, Medicare beneficiaries who previously received no help for drug costs in the donut hole will receive a rebate check for $250 to help cover these costs. Additional subsidies for brand name and generic drugs begin in 2011, and by 2020, the donut hole will be eliminated.
More information about Medicare Part D is available online at Medicare.gov.
